One Crisp September Morning
by AnonymousTwit
Summary: New York can't breathe. He can't feel his legs, and everything is going black. But he doesn't care, because he knows that America is hurting too, and he wants to know where he is. Right now. 9/11 Tribute. Rated T for sensitive topic and blood.
1. Moments Before

**Late...**

 **Late...**

 **Late, late, late,**

 **late, late, late,**

 **late, late, late,**

 **late, late, late,**

 **LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!**

 **Anyway, this is my 9/11 tribute. I'm well aware that the fifteenth anniversary has come and gone. I mean, what day is it? The sixth of October? Eh. Well, better late than never, I guess. Also, I'm still new enough here that I can make it an excuse(I joined on the fourteenth), sooooo, yeah! Enough of said excuses. Let's begin.**

 **Warning: Rated T for gore and sensitive topics. Viewer discretion is advised.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, but I wish I did because just about everything in this show is genius! I do own these state personification OCs, though, so I got that at least. :)**

* * *

It was around 8:00am when Massachusetts started to feel uneasy. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something definitely felt off. Then again, he had a habit of worrying about the smallest of details, so it couldn't be anything _too_ important. Even if there was something up, he doubted that anyone would listen, or at least without solid proof. Massachusetts wasn't exactly known for having much of a hunch for anything. He went by logic and analysis and he hated guessing.

Even then, while making himself his morning veggie smoothie, he couldn't shake that feeling and he was clueless as to why. The sounds of loud arguing upstairs as his other siblings began to wake up was actually a blessing to him then. He could hear New Jersey and New York going at it, one being violently dragged out of bed by the other, though he couldn't really tell who was who this morning. The roles switched quite often between the two. Despite his personal rivalry with both states(more so with New York), their yells of annoyance and the sounds of fists flying and ensuing crashing were strangely comforting to him. It was a good distraction.

The currently present early risers of his siblings started filing down for their own breakfasts. Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont came first. Normally, they woke up before him, but he supposed it was because he was feeling so strangely antsy. They were chatting quietly amongst each other, though Maine wasn't really speaking at all, as per usual. He watched silently as Maine fumbled around one of their many refrigerators for what kind of fish would make a good breakfast for today for her and her sister while Vermont automatically went to making himself some pancakes.

"Make something for Concord." New Hampshire requested as her precious pet squirrel scampered along the nearby windowsill and onto her shoulder. Maine just looked back silently, then after a beat went back to whatever she was doing.

"You should ask more kindly, sis." Vermont said nicely from somewhere beside them. Massachusetts always appreciated Vermont's calm and kind composure. He could use some tips from him, in all honestly.

Next came the disasters that were New York and New Jersey, with Connecticut and Rhode Island keeping a safe distance from behind.

"Sheesh, no wonder dad's always comparing them to England and France." he heard Rhode Island's voice clear over all of the commotion around them. He would never know how such a little midget could talk so loudly. He'd heard a rumor he once managed to speak over America. "Them, and Ohio and Michigan."

Connecticut nodded in agreement, but chose not to say anything. No matter what he tried, he always found himself somehow being in the middle of New York and New Jersey's shenanigans and he'd like to avoid that for once. Meanwhile, Massachusetts was now regretting ever appreciating said two states and returned to blocking them out of his head as he heard more states coming in for breakfast.

By 8:20am, the entire east coast was awake and up to their usual antics. The war over crab cakes and clam cakes had already begun for the day between Maryland and Rhode Island respectively and the Carolinas were both chowing down on some home made biscuits. The Virginias had gone to have breakfast outside, with some of the other states following them, and Georgia and Florida were sharing fruits, mostly peaches and oranges, before Florida chased after her siblings heading out. Michigan and Ohio were awake as well, making their usual, but more "sophisticated" fuss as they seemed to see it, as if they didn't want to be compared to their eastern counterparts who had already all but gone to war with each other for the day. Massachusetts saw it all as the same.

Though in his opinion, Ohio and Michigan acted less like England and France and more like America and Russia.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" Massachusetts jerked at the sudden presence of Virginia, whom he'd just seen head out with her sister. He sighed, fumbling with his glasses. "Y-yes, I'm fine. You startled me, though."

"You should be a little more observant, then, bro."

"Apology accepted." he grumbled, though he wasn't sure what he'd been expecting.

"Anyway," she continued, completely ignoring his comment. "I wanted to talk to you about something. I don't know why, but I feel like it's kinda important."

Feeling his stomach drop, Massachusetts took a moment to look over his sister. Her usually perfectly combed hair was a bit disheveled and slightly faded. Though it was never as blindingly bleach-colored as that of the Carolinas, Virginia's hair was usually a pretty bright blonde. Now, it was closer to his own hair, a darker, more dirty blonde color that resembled their father's. Her blue eyes were also strangely dim.

Something was definitely bothering her.

Virginia cleared her throat. "How've you been feeling? Anything weird? You feel...off?"

Massachusetts could tell by the way that Virginia's face fell that she noticed him shifting uncomfortably. This was starting to scare him. At first, he'd pushed it off as nothing because he knew himself. He worried over nothing all the time, and he was a smart guy. He wasn't going to freak out over an unfounded idea. But now he wasn't the only one.

He cleared his own throat. "I...have...actually." he said slowly, his earlier sense of dread intensifying.

"What should we do?" she asked. Massachusetts hated not having the answers, but at this point, his guess was as good as hers. "Let's wait." he finally said. "We don't know if anything is really going on, so let's wait and see."

"Should we call dad?"

That was a good question. Massachusetts hadn't even thought about the fact that he wasn't there. He was in fact at a world conference in London, so if anything _did_ happen, he wouldn't be there. They'd be on their own, and wouldn't that just be fantastic?

"I don't know." he wasn't liking how slow he was being at answering her, nor did he like how hesitant he was acting. "Again,...let's wait and see."

And so they waited. They waited to see if something really was up, and if maybe anyone else got the strange feeling of foreboding that was weighing on them.

And it was 8:42am when they were done waiting.

Massachusetts was in the study reading, trying to keep his mind on other things, when Virginia strode in. The first thing he noticed about her was that she was tense, not a good sign.

"New Jersey, Massachusetts. _New Jersey_."

"What?"

"The weird sense of dread. New Jersey's getting nervous, too. Call dad, _now_."

When asked which state out of all fifty of them was most like America, most people might say New York or Texas, while others who knew them a little better might even say Delaware. However, the states themselves knew better. As much as some of them might want to say otherwise, nobody resembled the spitting image of their dad and who he is more than the bombastic and outspoken state of New Jersey. New york may be America's poster boy, but not even he matched their caretaker's personality to such a tee, his loudness, his over confidence, his energy, his _fearlessness_.

 _New Jersey's getting nervous, too._

* * *

"How can you stand this weather? It's freezing out here!"

"Eh, grow some balls, Florida. It's actually pretty warm today."

New York laughed at Florida's expense. He always found it hilarious how his more southern siblings found _any_ weather below eighty degrees "freezing", and Florida was one of the worst of 'em, pulling out parkas and scarfs for such groundbreaking drops as the _sixties_. Ooooh... The sixties were shorts and t-shirt weather for him, so he didn't know what in the world she was complaining about.

Shoving the rest of his home made pizza into his mouth, he jumped up to find something else to do other than sit around and chit-chat. You can't waste your time on something for too long, right? You've only got so much of it. His thoughts were interrupted by him tripping over New Jersey's outstretched foot.

"Hey, very funny, you jerk." he immediately spat after regaining his balance. "You would think that you could at least do a decent parking job just by sitting down." He mentally patted himself on the back for getting a couple smirks from some of his siblings for his jab at his brother's infamously terrible driving(not that many of them were much better). New Jersey slowly glanced over before going back to being fascinated by a crack in the table, drumming his fingers impatiently.

"Whatever, you...New Yorker."

New York blinked. It wasn't until just now that he noticed New Jersey's mood. He wouldn't even look up at him, possibly to hide his somewhat glazed eyes. That wasn't his first thought, though. His first thought was that his insult, as he believed it was suppose to be, was kinda...not very...

"New Jersey, that sad excuse of a comeback was one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. What's up?"

New Jersey looked up at him in surprise. He hadn't expected New York to display any form of concern for him, though he should have known better than to assume that he wouldn't say anything at all. He decided that perhaps leaving would be the best option, before others noticed his mood as well, but he quickly discovered that this wasn't the case when New York followed him back into the house.

"Why are you ignoring me? Even at your angriest, you always have a retort to spare. Hey, New Jersey!"

He didn't want to deal with this right now. The dread he was feeling in his gut was driving him crazy as it was. He didn't want to deal with his arch nemesis being too curious on top of everything. In a nervous act, he glanced towards the clock as he passed by. It was 8:44am.

* * *

Where he was, it was currently 1:44pm, but the jet lag from yesterday's flight had yet to wear off. That and the meeting had been going on for a few hours now, and what time was it back at home? Eight? Nine? Ugh. So, it was completely understandable that he was almost completely burnt out at this point. They had started late and now they were about to restart after a ten minute break. He just wanted to sleep, but as the hero, he couldn't do that. He had to stay awake and alert and contribute to the meeting, even if most people there would probably appreciate his silence, according to what he'd heard so many people say about him.

It's not like it bothered him that much, the things that people say behind his back. He just kinda wished that they'd respect him enough to say it to his face and not try to hide how much he assumed they disliked him behind their language. Despite their ages, they seemed to forget that the population living in a country can affect their fluency in a language, or at least their capabilities to learn one. So, since America was the melting pot of cultures, he'd become fluent in just about every single major language in the world and could understand everything they said. But he didn't bother saying anything, though. It was actually really fun playing the idiot anyway, though how people were still convinced that a _complete_ idiot could rise to become the world's sole superpower was beyond him. Yes, he was childish in many ways and sometimes did crazy and foolish things and had a blast with it, but that didn't make him stupid. The other countries also seemed to forget that he was responsible for inventing a ton of technology that is commonly used today, such as the light bulb, the microwave, the skyscraper, peanut butter,...the machine gun, the atomic bomb, the freaking airplane...

Oh yeah, and also the atom smasher. Try to wrap your head around _that_ one.

"Are you even listening?"

"Huh?" In all honesty, no. America was not listening. "Oh, yeah, what were you saying?"

England huffed in annoyance. "We were talking about economics, you twit."

"Oh, right." Yes, that was it. He had been talking to England about the differences between their economies and currencies when his mind had wandered off. Of course, England was prattling on about how unfocused he was being, so he just decided to let him be proven right and laugh at him when he started sputtering in anger at being ignored. His surroundings were currently a little more interesting anyway. Also, in case it wasn't already made clear before, he was very tired.

People were starting to file back into the private conference room previously reserved for the meeting. It was a nice room, directly inside their hotel for their convenience. He had to applaud England for such a genius move. It meant that he could easily just go to bed once this was all over by going up a flight of stairs and walking down a couple doors, and that's all that mattered to him at the moment. Germany, Italy, and Romano returned first, probably mostly because of Germany wanting to be back on time. Italy had leaped into the swivel chair(chalk that up as another of America's brilliant inventions) nearest to the podium and started spinning around like a madman as Germany pretended to not find that entertaining while simultaneously ignoring whatever Romano was currently yelling at him about. The Bad Touch Trio followed soon after, Prussia and Spain gravitating towards where Germany and Romano were and making Germany's life even more difficult. America was somewhat tempted to join them in their games, but decided against it. He didn't have as much energy as he normally did since in his time zone, he'd been up and at the meeting by five in the morning and hadn't had any coffee to keep him awake, though to his credit, he was doing pretty good.

"Did you nod off on me again!?" he heard England suddenly yell at him.

"Huh?" England's reaction was priceless. He couldn't help but crack a smile as England started violently sputtering something at him about respect and looked about ready to jump up and strangle him to death. It made France joining in on the conversation even better.

"Mon cher, you sound like a virgin drunkard."

"What does that even _mean_ , frog?!"

America took this opportunity to return to his thoughts. The Asian countries were coming in, Japan also making his way over to where Italy and Germany were while China was left with South Korea. While this was going on, Russia returned as well, closely followed by his stalker sister, Belarus. He was doing his best to ignore her, but being stalked by Belarus might actually be scarier than ghosts, so he was sure that Russia was gonna run some point soon. As much as he hated to admit it, you gotta give credit where credit is due. Russia was being admirably brave in his situation. Not far behind the two was Ukraine, who was happily chatting with Liechtenstein and Hungary with Switzerland and Austria being nearby. As he watched them start to take their seats, he actually noticed Canada for once, having already arrived and was seated. Funny, he never saw him come in. He was looking through some documents when he looked up and noticed that his brother was looking at him. Excited by the idea of being noticed, Canada waved to him, earning a casual salute in return.

"Alright," Germany announced, "We will be resuming the meeting now."

France briskly walked back to his seat while England was in mid-sentence, earning even more yelling from the irate Brit. While the volume continued to rise, America took the opportunity to search through his stuff to find his own supplies. It took him only a couple seconds to realize that he'd made a mistake. England heard him curse under his breath.

"What now?"

"I grabbed the wrong case." America sighed. "The one I need is in my room. I think I left my phone there, too."

"Is it important?"

"Yeah, it's got all my charts and documents and stuff."

England thought for a long moment, glancing between him and the door, before he motioned to it. "If that's truly what it is, then I will get you excused for being late. Just don't take too long."

America blinked for a moment before letting a grin brighten his face. "You mean that Iggy? Wow, thanks a lot! I own you one!"

"Don't call me that!" England hissed as America shot up from his seat and quickly raced out the door towards his room. He let out a sigh as he heard Germany start the roll call and absent-mindedly glanced up at the clock as it struck 1:46pm.

None of them were prepared for what would happen within the next thirty seconds.

* * *

Virginia let out a loud curse and threw the phone across the room in frustration when it went to voice mail for the fifth time. "Why won't he answer!?" she screamed.

She and Massachusetts felt so sick to their stomachs with worry that they were nauseous. Massachusetts had even been heaving a moment ago. When they had finally acted on their idea to call America, he wouldn't pick up. By the third time the voice mail played, she was ready to cry. She wasn't just worried for them, but also for her caretaker. She knew how it worked between nations and states. If something happened to his territories, it would hurt him, too. He was also vulnerable, and he needed to know what was going on, but now they couldn't reach him.

"So what do we do now?" she asked Massachusetts. She didn't expect him to know, but she _had_ to ask.

He didn't get a chance to answer, though. **_8:46am_**.

There was a loud crash from upstairs, followed by someone shouting. Virginia and Massachusetts gave each other wide eyed looks before running out of the study towards the commotion. Maine was ahead of them, having responded to the noise at record speed. Several of their siblings were behind them as the shouting grew in volume and urgency. Upstairs, the noise of waking up the Midwest and western states that were there at the mansion and not in their own private homes across the country. Several of them were peeking out of their rooms with interest and concern.

"What's with all the noise? I'm trying to sleep." Nevada mumbled, insensitive as ever.

"Is everything okay?" Idaho asked in the commotion, but his question was lost in the excitement.

"Why are y'all so noisy?" Texas slurred drowsily.

"Should we be concerned?" Alaska called out.

"What's going on?" Louisiana whined, still half asleep.

They were ignored, however, as their answers came from New Jersey appearing at the end of the hallway, breathing heavily with wide eyes, unfallen tears, and blood on his clothes.

Massachusetts called out first. "New Jersey, what-"

"New York!" he screamed. "Something's happening to New York! Help him NOW!"

* * *

 **For those of you who care, I will, for sure, post a new chapter of How Hard can it Be? some time next week, as I am trying my hardest to post at least something for you guys every week and I haven't finished said chapter yet(stupid midterms .-.). So, stay tuned and I shall deliver! ...Eventually! ...'Cause I refuse to be that person who writes a story with an interesting idea and then let's it die! ...I hate when that happens. So depressing. :(**

 **'Kay, so with that, I will see you next time!**

 **~AnonymousTwit**


	2. Impact

They weren't prepared for what they found when New Jersey led them in. The room smelt of burnt flesh and smoke, but there was none to be found. Then they saw New York and felt ready to throw up. Virginia let out a shocked gasp at the sight of him. He was on the floor, hyperventilating and laying in a pool of his own blood. There were burns all over him and he was spasming and convulsing as new cuts and bruises were appearing all over his body.

Massachusetts couldn't say anything else. "What happened!? What's happening to him!?"

"How should I know!?" New Jersey screamed, finally letting the tears flow. "One moment he's talking my ear off and then he's falling over in a heap in a spray of blood the next! You tell _me_ what's happening!"

Their siblings were mumbling amongst each other in extreme concern for their fallen brother. Shuffling could be heard, Oklahoma appearing at the front of the group and looking down at New York in horror.

"Did he get bombed?!"

Her family stared at her terrified, realizing the possibility of that being the case. "I was like this once, remember? Oklahoma City? 1995? I looked an awful lot like that!" Her voice was starting to waver as she watched her big brother writhe in agony.

Delaware forced herself through the rapidly growing crowd of states, Pennsylvania and Maine close behind her. She threw herself down next to New York, dropping any concern she might have had for her now blood-stained pants as she looked over him with watery eyes.

"New York? New York, can you hear me? It's Delaware. What happened?"

New York coughed, hacking up blood and grimacing in pain. "I-I-I... I don't..."

"Shh..." Maine hushed him and her sister gently. "You don't need to answer. You need rest. We can piece everything together later, ayuh."

New York nodded, more focused on trying to force air into his lungs. Pennsylvania immediately stood up as Delaware pointed back towards the door. "Go get bandages and whatever else you can find. We need to stop the bleeding."

Pennsylvania was shoving herself unceremoniously through the crowd and out the door before Delaware could say anything else. "Someone go get towels and water, now!" Delaware ordered. "And turn on the TV! I don't care what Maine says right now! We need answers!"

"On it." Connecticut said simply as he rushed out the door, Nevada following close behind.

"Texas, help me carry him. Everyone else, get out of the way!"

Everyone hustled through the doorway as Texas picked up his brother as gently as possible. New York gasped in pain as he was lifted from the ground and carried towards the doorway.

"Where do I take him?"

"The couch by the TV. It's easy to get to and it can be replaced if it stains. Besides, there _has_ to be something on the news."

The two slowly made their way downstairs as New York continued to spasm painfully in Texas's grasp. Maine quickly ran past them, not daring to look any of them in the eye. She didn't bother to say anything. She hadn't spoken up about her weird feeling. She had felt something was wrong even before Massachusetts, but she had never said anything. She knew that her words had meaning among her siblings. She may be quiet, but her siblings knew better than to blow off anything she ever bothered to say, and as she watched her brother bleed out before her, she couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt wash over her. She couldn't look at him.

Delaware and Texas approached the living room carefully, Texas trying to be as gentle as possible as Delaware went ahead of him. Several states had gathered around the TV, most of them in complete shock. Others were openly crying. Even tough Russian-raised girl Alaska and forever morally stunted Nevada were wide eyed and covering their mouths at what they were looking at. Delaware approached from behind, getting her first look at what was happening to New York.

Her blood ran cold at the sight of it.

New Jersey looked up at her, having completely given up on hiding his tears. It subconsciously terrified her. New Jersey _hated_ New York. They were always butting heads and fighting with each other everyday. They were always trying to best each other and always making the other's life miserable. In fact, Massachusetts didn't like New York either, but he was in a similar state of disbelief and fear. Seeing New Jersey _cry_ for him, cry for someone he always fought with, it was too much. She glanced behind her, watching as Texas seemed to completely space out at the sight that was displayed before them on the news. He held New York closer to him. Whether he was being protective or somewhat comforting himself, she wasn't sure.

"Delaware..." New Jersey's wavering voice startled her out of her thoughts. "...What do we do?"

 _What_ do _we do?_ The question replayed itself over and over in her mind. What _could_ they do? What could they do other then stare in awe at the sickening black smoke billowing out of the giant hole at the top of the north tower of the World Trade Center?

Nothing. They could do absolutely _nothing_.

* * *

" _What is taking that idiot so long?_ " England thought in annoyance as he impatiently strummed his fingers against the table. If he remembered correctly, America had agreed to return _quickly_ when England offered to help him. It was just a briefcase and a phone, and his room wasn't that far away. There was no way it would take that long to retrieve those items.

He left _ten minutes ago_.

He'd zoned out as soon as Prussia had forced himself to the podium. Despite Germany's protests, Prussia had jumped up unannounced and started going off about a bunch of nonsense that England didn't even bother to pay attention to, and looking around and the other countries' faces, he wasn't the only one who thought that. Whatever he was talking about was probably even less likely than one of America's crazy ideas and impossible to take seriously. He wasn't even a country anymore, anyway, so why was he even here, anyway? As Germany and Prussia fought for control of the meeting and everyone else started falling into the usual chaos, England found himself starting to fall asleep.

Then someone's phone rang.

England hadn't even realized that Canada was there at all, but he immediately noticed the ringing of his cellphone as he began to dig through his stuff to find it. He didn't even bother to leave and answer it outside. One look at the name and he answered it on the spot. "Yes?"

England wasn't sure why something so insignificant had caught his attention. First off, it was just a cellphone. Literally everyone had those. Second, it was Canada. No explanation needed. He blamed it on how oddly unfocused he was at the moment, and also Prussia for whatever his new development was supposed to be. Honestly, he was being utterly ridiculous.

"You're spacing out."

England jerked up at the sound of France's voice before returning to his brooding. "Why would you care, frog?"

France shrugged. "Just something I noticed. You should pay more attention to your surroundings though, mon cher. I didn't have to reveal my presence to you. Ohohohoho."

"Get lost." England sneered as France continued on his merry way. He wasn't in the mood for his antics at the moment. He was already in a bad mood, because _someone_ hadn't gotten back. Seriously, what _was_ taking him so long?

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something. France had stopped mid step. Again, another thing that shouldn't have gained his attention so easily, but there was nothing else to bother paying attention to, so he didn't give it much more thought. France hadn't moved from his spot, his posture becoming somewhat less relaxed. Then England looked at his face. He was mostly turned away from him, but England could see him enough to noticed the concern in his expression. He looked as if something was starting to trouble him. His eyes were firmly fixed on one spot and he looked ready to act at any second if need be. Curious, England followed his gaze and found Canada.

Canada looked like he was ready to cry.

His face had gone completely white and he was shaking, a look of utter disbelief on his face as he shook his head and started glancing at the door over and over again. He was itching to get out. "A-A-Are you... Are you s-sure?"

Another second of waiting and he was up, almost dropping his phone and making a beeline for the exit. He brushed past France on his way out. "Canada-"

"Excuse me!"

He didn't even bother looking back. He just ran as fast as he could, yelling incoherency into his phone as he disappeared down the hall, leaving France in a state of confusion. Eventually, France pulled out his own phone, probably to try and see if he could figure out anything about what was going on. England himself had also become quite curious, but a part of him wondered if he wanted to know the answer. It was a weird thought, but as he watched France's face as he skimmed through whatever news source he'd come across, a sense of dread was starting to come over him. France's expression was now mirroring Canada's from just a moment ago, pale with fear and disbelief. He covered his mouth, not able to fully grasp what he was looking at. It was such a foreign look on him, and England found himself feeling uncomfortable. France suddenly turned towards him, approaching him swiftly and with a sense of urgency.

"Do those televisions work?" he pointed towards the large flat screens that decorated the far side of the room. Though they were mostly for show and for presentations, it was certainly possible to use them for entertainment purposes.

"Of course they do." England scoffed. "Why wouldn't-"

France had already turned and left, no longer at a walk, now running around the table to where Germany and Prussia were still bickering. "Germany! Direct everyone's attention towards those screens! Turn them on! Quickly!"

"What?" Germany was completely caught off guard by the fear in France's voice. "Why do you want us to-"

"Just do it!" he whirled back around to England, yelling at him from across the room. "Turn them on, now, Angleterre! Then come and find us! Hurry! _HURRY!_ "

And he was out the door, bolting after Canada as fast as humanly possible before England could question his orders. By now, the commotion had gotten the attention of all of the other nations. Many of them were looking at each other in confusion, wondering what in the world had gotten the Frenchman so riled up. England found himself getting more and more nervous as the suspense pressed on.

"Well?" Prussia was the one to finally speak up. "You heard the man. Turn them on."

After messing with the TVs for a minute or two, Germany, with England's help, was able to get them up and running. England had assumed that the news station was the obvious choice to go to for answers, but he didn't have to worry about it. It was already on the news.

And what England saw made his heart stop. "...Is...Isn't that New York...?"

* * *

For what felt like hours, the states hurried around in order to gain at least some semblance of control. It was about this time that they really started remembering that not all of them were there at home that day. Rarely was there ever a day that every state was home together in one house. Many of the western states were at their state homes making frantic calls to whoever would answer them, as the phone lines were getting jammed and it was becoming harder and harder to contact them. Some got through, though. Massachusetts getting a call from Illinois asking about New York's condition and everyone elses' well being was one of the things that really unnerved him. Illinois was a bit selfish and had a habit of ignoring the needs of others, but he was also one of the quickest at gathering the latest news, and he was the first to call. What got to Massachusetts was that he called out of concern in the first place, and he seemed _scared_. It was unlike him, and it only served to remind him of what was happening around him.

They did all they could to make New York comfortable. He was still bleeding profusely and it was scaring them how much blood he was losing. His breathing was as close to back to normal as it could get in his condition, ragged and heavy as he forced air into his lungs. He skin was going pale and beads of sweat were running down his face. Massachusetts may not always get along with New York, but seeing his younger brother like this shook him to his core. He was always so confident, and it hurt to watch him struggle just to breathe. As Massachusetts watched the tower burn in morbid fascination, New York turned to him.

"What happened to me?" rasped sadly.

Massachusetts looked back at him, sympathy flashing across his eyes. "From what we understand, someone flew a passenger plane into the north tower."

New York stared at him blankly, not quite comprehending what he was just told. Massachusetts sighed. "You're not the only one in shock."

"Aww, so you care?" New York chimed with a hint of mockery in his voice. It felt somewhat normal to hear and it helped to relax the other state.

"So how do you think it happened?" Pennsylvania asked as she returned with more first aid supplies and towels.

"Who knows." Massachusetts mused. "It's quite the crash, isn't it?"

Other states were stopping to watch what was unfolding on screen. West Virginia hugged her older clone as tears fell down her eyes. "Oh, Virginia," she cried. "All those people..."

"I know..."

"What kinda stupid move was this, anyway?" South Carolina seethed from Massachusetts's right. "What even happened!?"

"I wish I knew, hon." he heard Maryland say from somewhere else. "I think we all do."

"I can personally confirm this." Ohio said from Maryland's direction.

Massachusetts looked towards South Carolina, who was absolutely livid. The fact that someone would be so careless as to hurt her family for no apparent reason really ticked her off. It was useless bloodshed of innocent people who had no clue what they were walking into, or that anything would happen in the first place, and _that wasn't fair_.While he let South blow off steam, he took a look at her younger twin sister and noticed something interesting.

North Carolina had the same disbelief as everyone else and an inferno raging behind her eyes that matched her sister's. However, there was something else there as she stared in horror at the screen. Was it fear? Uncertainty? He couldn't really put his finger on, but there was something going on in her mind. A thought that had yet to cross any of them. The clock struck 9:00am.

"That was definitely quite the landing job they did there." Nevada joked nervously. Even he was thrown off by such an event, and Massachusetts didn't even _know_ that he had a moral compass to get thrown off by anything.

New York chuckled before grimacing. It hurt to laugh. "Yeah, it's something else, isn't it? Hurts a lot, though."

"So what do you think caused it?" Alaska asked from somewhere behind them.

"Engine failure, maybe?" Michigan proposed.

"Maybe they couldn't see." Georgia said.

"Or someone was just stupid." New Jersey hissed.

"Whatever it was, it's quite the accident, isn't it?" Vermont thought aloud.

" _That's impossible._ "

Everyone was startled by the power behind North Carolina's words. She'd spoken loudly, forcing everyone to hear her. Her eyes were burning and her face was grave. Accident? No. She didn't believe it for a second. The other states stared at her, not quite sure what she was trying to say.

"What's impossible, North?" Maryland asked in a hushed voice.

North Carolina didn't miss a beat. "This being an accident. There's _no way_ this was a mistake."

Everyone stared at her in complete shock. Yes, it had crossed the minds of some that this was an intentional attack against them, but none of them thought over it for long. It just seemed so... It didn't seem like something that could happen to them. They were the United freaking States! They were invincible, right?

North Carolina seemed to think otherwise.

"Please explain to us, North," Massachusetts ordered, "Why you would believe that this is intentional."

"I'd like to hear this myself." Delaware added.

New York didn't say a word.

"I'm a pilot, remember?" North Carolina said. "I know what it's like to fly a plane. For crying out loud, I helped _invent_ it. I know how difficult it is to fly one-"

"I don't see how-" North Carolina cut Massachusetts off immediately.

" _My point is_ that there's no way someone could make a mistake like _that_ in _those_ conditions."

"But what if the engine _did_ fail?" New Hampshire quietly wondered aloud.

"Even if it did," North spat. "The pilot would know better than to fly directly into a populated area and risk _this!_ " she pointed feverishly at the TV. "There's literally an _entire ocean_ for them to land into instead!"

"Maybe they couldn't see."

North Carolina didn't even bother looking at whoever said that. "In _that weather?_ Are you _freaking kidding me?!_ " she yelled. "It's gorgeous out there! It's perfect flying conditions! You couldn't ask for better weather for a flight! It's so clear!"

"What if the pilot was a novice?"

"FORGET THAT!" North Carolina was screaming at the top of her lungs now, the rage building behind her eyes being fully let loose. "Not even a novice would make a mistake like _THAT!_ Besides, that was a commercial airliner! _If you're_ that _bad at flying, then WHY WOULD THEY EVEN HIRE YOU!?"_

They didn't want to believe it. None of them wanted to accept what North Carolina was explaining so clearly to them. It couldn't be intentional. It just _couldn't_. But everything they said was immediately shot down. North Carolina wasn't beating around the bush. She knew how to fly, and she knew that there was no way someone could crash so spectacularly in such conditions. She just couldn't comprehend that. As they all continued to argue, the hand of the clock moved on. **_9:03am_**.

Rhode Island's voice could be heard clear as day. He didn't even have to yell when he saw it. His words stuck out so much that no one missed them. They all turned to face him, eyes wide with fear as they were given only mere seconds to let them sink in. Rhode Island stood, pointing at the screen in confusion and worry at what they realized was about to happen. North Carolina was right.

"Hey guys, isn't that another plane?"

 ** _BOOM_**

New York screamed.


	3. United We Stand

**Well, I never really got to How Hard can it Be this week. Lucky, I had a chapter of this story prepared ahead of time, so this will be my weekly update... A lot has happened lately between school and...other...rather horrific and depressing issues that I will refrain from ruining your day with. Don't worry, though. I'm fine, and I shall continue to write. :)**

 **On a brighter note, Halloween this year was pretty fun. I dressed up as America! :DDD My little sister went as Russia, and she's taller than me for some reason, so that made it even better! I wish I could show pictures. I think we looked pretty good. It was especially awesome when someone actually recognized who we were dressed as!**

 **Okay, so anyway, enough about my personal life. Let's get on with the story!**

* * *

It wasn't as if North Carolina _wanted_ to be right. They all knew that.

However, that didn't change the fact that their brother was howling in absolute agony and they were watching innocent people die for no reason and there was nothing they could do about it.

Texas and Virginia were among the first to react, jumping up and holding a flailing New York down to try and avoid further injury. West Virginia plugged her ears and cried as her older brother continued to scream before eventually being reduced to labored breathing and tears. Pennsylvania was there instantly with first aid, now tending to his wounds that had become twice their original size. She gently applied a wet towel to his forehead, his face now feverish and contorted in pain, and began to clean the wounds. Alaska watched from across the room, arms crossed and expression completely blank. She still wasn't quite sure how to react, except for wanting to bathe in the blood of her enemies. If only they weren't dead, the lucky sons of... Alaska quietly began to curse in Russian before walking out to collect her thoughts.

Massachusetts was already going for the phone, preparing for the onslaught of calls that he assumed would be coming in shortly. He wasn't wrong, as call after call from his siblings started pouring in. California was having a fit, as the flights that had crashed were heading for Los Angeles. Those people were suppose to be safe and sound in his state, not _dead_. Massachusetts eventually had to call in Florida to calm him down, though she wasn't much better off. The same thing happened when Hawaii called. The little girl had been given the news by her boss, and she wanted desperately to talk to New York. It took a lot of convincing, but Massachusetts eventually convinced her that she needed to wait since he was in so much pain.

Nobody dared to approach South Carolina. It had been years since the last time she got this angry. The room that she had run off to was in ruins, with shattered glass, smashed in walls, and furniture thrown around carelessly. When North Carolina had gone to check on her, she almost got taken out with a light bulb. South Carolina leaned against the wall, sliding down and burying her face in her knees. North Carolina approached slowly, hoping to not set her off again.

"It's not fair..."

North Carolina stopped, looking down at her older twin with interest. South Carolina lifted her head, barely looking up at her. She probably didn't want her to see the streams of tears running down her face.

"It's not fair... There's no war going on...and New York may be a jerk sometimes, but...he doesn't deserve this... What did he do to deserve this? What did _we_ do to deserve this? ...Nobody deserves this..."

South Carolina was now balling her fists in anger, clenching her teeth and looking ahead dangerously. "What reason do they have to fight? Tell me, what was their reason for this? It can't be for their people, because we've done nothing. It can't be for their country, because we've done _nothing_. It can't be for themselves, because _we've done nothing_ , or am I cutting them too much slack by thinking they wouldn't be that _selfish?_ "

North Carolina now understood. She knew how strongly her sister believed in fighting with purpose. If you don't have a good reason for war, then you have _no business_ fighting. South may get angry, but she was never one to be rash. She never made decisions without truly thinking them through, and she especially tried to not made _selfish_ decisions.

That's why she didn't hesitate to secede all those years ago. It wasn't like she _wanted_ to hurt anyone. She was doing what she thought was best for her and her people.

Now she was seeing someone acting selfishly and destroying the lives of thousands, no, millions, and they would never see the light of day again, and their loved ones would never see _them_ again. They had no good reason. There was no war going on.

 _There would be soon, though._

"South..." North Carolina sighed. She hated seeing her like this. This _angry_ and _broken_. North slid down the wall next to her twin, putting a hand lovingly on her shoulder. "It's gonna be okay. I know that it looks bad, now..., but..." she trailed off, thinking back to her own outburst not too long ago, just before the second plane hit. She hadn't wanted to be right. She desperately wanted to be wrong with every fiber in her being, but she knew better.

 _She helped invent it, after all..._

North Carolina felt an arm go around her back, leaning her against her sister's shoulder. "I'm sorry..." South whispered. The softness in her voice sounded so foreign. "It must be hard on you, seeing your own contribution to history being used...in such a way..." South carefully wiped away tears that North Carolina hadn't even realized were falling.

It was a rare moment for them. As much time as they spent around each other, they weren't the perfect twins by any means. They were nothing like the Dakotas, who, despite South Dakota's superiority complex over his brother, were _legit twins_ who spent every waking moment together. Nor were they the Virginias, who were once one person, so they could read each other like books. No, the Carolinas, with a couple noticeable similarities, were two very different people. One was patient, the other was a fire cracker. One loves the sky, the other loves the water. One wears her hair long, the other likes to cut it short. One likes barbeque, the other prefers seafood. One gets mad if mistaken for her twin, the other...also gets mad, but that's not the point here.

South Carolina sighed, showing her younger twin a soft side that she rarely showed, and gave her a much needed hug. North welcomed it, burying her face in her sister's chest as her body became racked with sobs. South let her anger dissipate for the time being. They could go on a manhunt later. Now was a time for mourning as their brother's people... _their_ people...could only watch as everything they cared about was ripped away from them. Their peace...their security...their _loved ones_...

Gone.

And so, the two sisters sat alone in the darkness of a broken and shattered room and cried.

* * *

The phone calls were becoming less frequent now, probably from the phone lines being jammed by so many calls going to and from New York. Massachusetts sat in silence, watching the quiet phone with mental exhaustion. A glance at the clock and he could only groan. It was only 9:30am and so much had happened that his head was spinning and his stomach was queasy. Waiting for calls had become a fantastic excuse to get out of the living room and off by himself, away from the madness. Massachusetts sighed, leaning back in his chair and removing his glasses to rub his eyes. This was too much. They'd been foolish enough to believe that nothing could happen to them. They were strong. They were powerful. They were untouchable. They were invincible.

They were burning. They were _helpless_.

Massachusetts stood up slowly and lazily made his way back into the living room. Georgia was sitting on the floor, silently watching the events unfolding on the screen with tears falling unchecked down her face as she curled into herself. Rhode Island and Oklahoma hugged her, giving her the support that they knew they all needed, and for once, Rhode Island was silent. Vermont and New Hampshire sat together in the corner, Vermont cuddling his older sister as she clung to him. On closer inspection, he noticed that Vermont was also leaning heavily onto her, as if he was also searching for support.

Ohio and Michigan didn't even look at each other. It was one of the weirdest and most unnerving things that Massachusetts had ever seen. They showed no signs of malice towards each other. There were no threats, no glares, no _nothing_. Not even a sideways glance and it was freaking him out because they were standing _so close to each other_. Delaware had stopped barking orders and had resorted to just standing there and watching everything unfold in New York. Massachusetts had to hand it to her. Sure, she may always assert her dominance as the oldest(sort of) and would never shut up about her privilege of being "first", but when push comes to shove, she is strong.

And right now, what they need more than anything is for someone to be strong.

Maryland was helping Pennsylvania and Florida(who was actually doing work _willingly_ ) tend to New York, who had fallen unconscious. She didn't say a word, with the exception of a couple "it'll be okay, hon"'s as she attempted to comfort her injured brother and hysterical sisters as best as she could. Virginia was comforting a distraught West Virginia while Texas and Connecticut stood nearby, having expressions of anger and worry, respectively.

Idaho had left to get potatoes for New York from his own personal stash. Normally, you would wonder why he would leave if he cared so much about his brother, but the others knew better. Idaho never shared from his personal stash. They were his best potatoes that he saved just for himself, though he shared with a select few, such as Nebraska, every once in a while. The fact that he was going to far as to give up something that they knew was precious to him was enough for them to appreciate his actions. That, and it was a chance for him to breathe after everything that had happened. They understood and were grateful, and they knew that New York would be, too.

When Texas finally moved away from the Virginias, he found Alaska sulking in a corner. He sighed as he watched her polish a rusty old metal plumbing pipe. She hadn't wielded that thing in a considerably long time, only ever doing so in play fights with her former caretaker. Texas remembered always seeing her return with horrible bruises and a cheeky grin on her face.

"I got his face, this time," she would say. "I broke his arm, this time," or "I drew blood, this time." Of course, "I won" was never even uttered. That never bothered her, though. She was a territory. No matter how strong she became, she'd never be stronger than Russia. She understood that, and it never bothered her.

Now, however, Texas could see blood lust in her eyes as she polished her pipe. She wasn't a nation, but that didn't mean that someone wasn't going to pay at the end of that pipe.

 _Or the barrel of her gun_ , he thought as he looked over the room covered in spilled bullets and messily strewn about pistols, revolvers, and shot guns, with an extra sniper rifle off to the right. Her prized sub-machine gun that was given to her for her "first birthday"(first as an official state) was left in the corner of the room with care, leaned against the wall and shimmering in the light of the early September morning.

It called for blood. Texas could _hear_ it.

"Hey..." Texas greeted weakly. Alaska stopped what she was doing, but didn't look up at him. She didn't move at all. Texas sighed. "Are you okay?"

"...Is there anyone who is okay at this moment in time?" her accent had become thick, not a good sign. Alaska, no longer a Russian territory, lost most of her accent years ago, so it was extremely light nowadays. There were very few times when her accent returned to what it was before, and that was when she was either scared or angry.

She was probably both. He was, anyway.

Texas came up directly behind her, looking down at the powerful state as she hunched over and stared blankly at her pipe. He knew exactly how she felt. They were strong. They were both gifted with superhuman strength and yet they were useless in this situation. As much as they wanted to save those people, be heroes, _get revenge_ , they could do nothing, and it was tearing them apart.

"No..." Texas finally said, kneeling down beside her and putting his hand on her shoulder. "But sitting here all alone isn't gonna help anything, either."

Alaska finally looked up at him. Tears threatened to fall, but they never did. Texas smiled reassuringly. "Closing ourselves off and giving up is... Oh, how do I say this? Um..., how about... Consider it this way. Once this is all over, how do they want us to react? How are we suppose to react? My guess is that they want us to close ourselves off. They want us to give up."

He leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "Now, what do we do now? Do we give them what they want? Do we give in to fear?..." he glanced at her weapons scattered around the room. "Do we give in to anger...completely? 'Cause if you ever run into any more of those sons of guns, I'm not stopping ya."

"You aren't entirely making sense." Alaska huffed, though a smile was starting to appear on her face. "Thank you for trying, though. I get what you're trying to say."

Texas smiled back. He could feel the atmosphere around the house starting to brighten, as if their other siblings were at least attempting to look up and think positively in such a hopeless situation. It was a start. Maybe everything was going to be okay, now.

The time was 9:35am.

* * *

Maryland never even realized that both New Jersey and Maine had disappeared until they had returned just a couple minutes ago. Both of them looked worn and defeated, like the world had ended around them and they _could have stopped it_.

 _But they couldn't have_ , Maryland thought sadly as she continued to change New York's bandages. They were already completely bloody after a few minutes and there were no signs of it letting up. It scared her, seeing one of her siblings lose so much blood so quickly. As personifications, they couldn't truly die, so they had that at least, but there was still a part of her that couldn't help but panic. _What if he did die? What then?_ She stared at her quiet siblings, one naturally quiet and one usually loud, obnoxious and making a fuss. It wasn't normal and she couldn't help but look at them with pity. Maine had her face hidden in her hands as she stood there. If she was crying, then she was doing a good job at hiding it. Not a single sob racked her body. New Jersey wasn't as scarce however. His teary eyes were blazing with the fury of a thousand suns for the brother that he supposedly hated. The one that he always fought with and never saw eye to eye with. He wanted to protect him, to make everything better, to make the ones that caused this _suffer_.

It was almost beautiful.

"I should have said something..." Maine cried quietly, hunching over as she finally began crying hard enough to be heard. New Jersey looked over at her sadly.

"Maine, you couldn't have-"

"They past one of _my_ security points!" she cried. "I should have-!"

" _Stop_."

New Jersey lurched forward and hugged his younger sister, patting her head lovingly and giving her words of reassurance. Maryland couldn't hear everything that was said, but she didn't need to. All she needed to know was that it was working, as Maine was shaking far less than she was before.

"Now, no more blaming yourself, 'kay, Maine?"

"...Ayuh." she whimpered pathetically.

Virginia, who had gone at Pennsylvania's request for more water, returned at about this time. She sighed as she looked down at her clone. West Virginia was curled up in the corner, looking forlorn, though she had stopped crying at least.

"You good?" Virginia asked.

West Virginia looked up at her startled, but relaxed and went back to staring at nothing. She nodded silently. Virginia huffed. "I don't believe you at all."

West Virginia shrugged, leaving Virginia to look at her with a worried expression. What else could she do? She closed her eyes and shook her head before going back to the task at hand. "Pennsylvania."

Pennsylvania looked up at her in sadness. "Thanks."

Everything had slowed down by now, everyone slowly trying to adjust to the idea of being vulnerable to the rest of the world. It was a terrifying thought, but it was now clear. They weren't safe anymore. Nobody was, and to them, it couldn't have been any clearer.

But once again, they were wrong. _**9:37am**_.

Virginia froze, staring wide-eyed at nothing in particular. Pennsylvania had been about to take the bowl of water from her when she noticed. "Virginia?"

Virginia didn't respond, and instead started to sway, making Pennsylvania nervous. Maryland had also suddenly stopped what she was doing and was watching them anxiously. "Virginia." Pennsylvania tried again.

Virginia's eyes glazed over, further making them nervous. "Hey, Virgi-"

Then there was red running down her face. Blood began to flow from her forehead as she dropped the bowl of water and began to fall. She didn't hear anything afterward.

"VIRGINIA!" Pennsylvania screamed as she raced forward and caught her sister before she could make contact with the floor. If West Virginia's head had shot up any faster than it did, she might have broken her neck. She leaped forward, leaving her earlier position in record speed, and raced across the room to where her sister had fallen. Maryland had screamed, covering her mouth with her hands and letting tears spill from her eyes as what was happening sank in.

They'd been hit again.

Idaho had returned just in time with a bag of his favorite potatoes when Virginia fell, actually dropping them to run forward in a panic. "What happened!? I- What do I do? What do you need? I have potatoes!" He grabbed one off of the floor and held it out to them in desperation. "Here, I have potatoes! Will it help? It can help, right!?"

They knew he wasn't that stupid. They knew that he was aware that his precious potatoes were completely and utterly useless. He was panicking. He was throwing away logic in place of hope that he could do _something_. That he could help _somehow_. Delaware turned to him from where she was, helping New Jersey keep a shocked Maine standing.

"Go get more water, more towels, and more first aid!" she barked. "That will help for sure! Go! Hurry!"

Idaho ran, potatoes forgotten on the floor as he made a mad dash for the bathroom in search of said supplies. Delaware left New Jersey and Rhode Island, who had moved up to help as well, with Maine in favor of helping Pennsylvania with their sister, though it required her shoving an extremely stubborn West Virginia out of the way to get to her. Georgia was now hugging Maryland as she finally broke down and sobbed loudly, which was hurting Georgia's ears. However, she did not complain.

"Shh... It's okay." she whispered as she stroked her younger sister's hair. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay. I promise."

She continued to soothe her as she cried into her chest, completely broken, while Oklahoma moved by the two to take Maryland's place in taking care of New York.

"I felt it!" she sobbed. "I felt it, too!"

Georgia looked down at her in concern. "What do you mean?"

"The impact! My legs! I felt it in my legs! It doesn't hurt as bad as it must be for Virginia, but I still felt it! You know what that means, don't you!"

Maryland's breath hitched as she looked up at her sister, letting loose several more sobs. "They hit the capital!" she cried. "They hit the capital!"

"What happened!?" Distracted, Delaware had jumped at the sound of new voices speaking to her with urgency. She had completely forgotten that Nevada and Louisiana were there. After the second impact, Nevada had disappeared, though she would later learn that it was because he hadn't known how to react, and chose to collect his thoughts in solitude. Meanwhile, this was the first time that Louisiana had made her presence known since they found New York and New Jersey after the first crash. She had been there the whole time, watching, taking in everything that was happening in front of her and trying with all of her might to wrap her head around it.

Louisiana, another state that _wasn't suppose to be quiet_.

"I- I don't..." Delaware stammered. She wasn't entirely sure herself, though Maryland's incoherent screaming was legitimately scaring her.

Texas and Alaska came tearing into the room before she could make a proper sentence. " _What got hit!?_ " Texas roared. Alaska visibly flinched at the _rage_ in his voice.

 _What did he say about anger, again?_ She thought, but she never said anything. She had her moment. He could have his turn to be angry.

The room was losing all sense of order when New York finally came around. He groaned, subconsciously rubbing his injury, though his hand was immediately swatted away.

"Don't do that." Oklahoma warned gently. "Everything's gonna be okay, you hear?" New York, after staring at her for a moment, decided to rub his head instead, as the growing chaos in the room was giving him a headache. He eyed his siblings warily as they continued to yell and holler as they watched the news explain their new situation.

"The Pentagon!?" he heard someone shout.

"They did hit the capital!" screamed someone else.

"What's going on!?"

"Why is this happening!?"

"Will Virginia be okay?! And New York?!"

"What if they attack somewhere else?!"

"What do we do!?"

What do we do? _What do we do?_

New York sighed. He was in too much pain to think that much about it. His buildings were still burning, innocent people were still dying, and he was _useless_. He just wanted to sleep it off. He was so tired of everything that was happening and he was just done. First him, now Virginia, apparently. What next? Who knows! He clenched his teeth in anger and slammed his fist into the side of the couch. Seriously, how pathetic could he get?

 _But why Virginia?_ He just had to stop and think about that for a second. What was in Virginia that was so important that someone would target it in a terrorist attack? _A freaking terrorist attack!_ There wasn't much that he could think of off the top of his head, so he was stumped for a little while. However, he started remembering tidbits of things he'd heard around him. _Maryland felt it, too... Maryland felt it, too..._ Then it made sense to him. Of course! Both Maryland and Virginia had land in D.C., so it must have been a hit to the capital, which was bad, but... Why? Why was it so bad, again? What was he missing? He could feel it; There was something important that they were leaving out of the equation. Something that made this so much worse. Something that they should do. Something else was wrong, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. What was wrong with him?

 _Capital..._

 _Capital..._

 _Capital..._

 _ **of...**_

Realization hit New York like a truck. _**NO.**_

 _ **No no no no no no no no-**_

Oklahoma had never been more startled in her entire life than when New York suddenly shot up into a sitting position. She flew from her chair with a surprised squeak, immediately catching the attention of everyone in the room. The resulting flying shoe barely missed North Carolina's face as the Carolinas made their way back after hearing all of the commotion. On any other day, South would have found it hilarious, but this stopped being any other day a while ago.

"Where is he...?" New York mumbled, eyes glazed over and unseeing. Slowly, he moved to stand, but Georgia jumped forward to stop him. In his injured state, he should have been no match for her, but he proved that theory wrong when, in a sudden burst of strength, threw her off of him and back into Maryland. Alaska moved, pinning him back onto the couch as he struggled to break free of her iron grip.

"No! Stop!" he yelled, blindly kicking and thrashing at his captor in an effort to escape and continue his search. _Where was he?_ _ **Where was he?**_

"Calm down." Alaska ordered with a hint of panic. Her accent had become so thick that the others could barely understand her. "You are hurt. Lay back down, please."

"I have to find him!" New York screamed. His wounds were reopening and it hurt so bad, but that didn't matter anymore. "He's hurt, too! He might be _worse!_ I don't know! I just have to find him! I have to know where he is! I have to know if he's okay! Let me go!"

Massachusetts was the first to make the connection. His face instantly paled, the realization hitting him just as hard. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he suddenly threw himself in between New York and Alaska.

"New York, calm down! Panicking isn't going to help! Please!" he held his shoulders in reassurance. "I'm gonna go call someone, okay? I'll go find him, I promise. You rest."

New York stared at him, a look of desperation on his face and tears of worry and pain freely flowing down his cheeks. After receiving a nod of understanding, Massachusetts ran as fast as he could to the phone, ripping it from its holder and smashing a number in. The others watched confused and worried as their brother seemed to be closer and closer to losing his mind with every passing second. When it went to voice mail, Massachusetts finally lost his temper, throwing out a string of curses as he redialed before screaming into the phone.

"For crying out loud, _England! PICK UP!_ "

Then they understood.

 _America_. New York was worried about _America_ , and for very good reason.

The absolute panic at the realization made their stomachs drop. They had all but forgotten about him. They were worried about New York, their citizens, and then Virginia. America hadn't crossed their minds until now. No wonder New York was freaking out all of a sudden.

And what scared them the most was that whatever happened to any of them would happen to him. He probably got hit hard by everything that happened. The only reason that New York wasn't in complete comatose from the utter destruction taking place in his country's most recognized city was because New York City, despite it being his largest city _by far_ , was _not_ his capital. That honor went to Albany. New York City was _not_ their brother's physical heart. It still did significant damage, considering how _important_ of a city it was, but it _wouldn't stop his heart_. It was their _only_ blessing. America probably received very similar, if not the same, injuries as New York, which meant that he must be in a lot of pain right now...

And D.C. was a whole other story altogether.

The next several minutes were spent trying call _someone_. They highly doubted that the World Conference meeting was still happening after _this,_ so it wasn't like they were interrupting anything, anyway. They called every single number they could find. Some called America's number. Some called Canada's. Others also attempted England's. Florida tried calling Spain, and even Romano, while Alaska dialed for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and the other Baltics as well. The rest of them called whatever number they could get a hold of. They _had_ to get to someone. _Anyone_.

Delaware let out a cry of frustration. The phone lines were already jammed, so they weren't going to get to anyone, but they _had_ to, not only for New York's sake, but for their own as well.

It wasn't until 9:55am when Louisiana suddenly jumped onto the table, swinging her cellphone above her head wildly with a look of legitimate happiness and tears of joy in her eyes.

"Guys!" she yelled. "Guys, I got France!"

* * *

 **Sorry that there was no nation interactions in this chapter, but I promise that the next chapter will most _certainly_ make up for that. For now, I hope you're enjoying this story so far and are looking forward to the next chapter! :D **

**~AnonymousTwit**


	4. International Response

**SUPER IMPORTANT MESSAGE AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER! IF YOU ARE A FOLLOWER OF ANY OF MY STORIES, PLEASE READ IT!**

 **Yay! More of this story. So this week has been one of the most stressful weeks of my entire life and I've now gone and gotten myself sick. Yipee. XD So if I don't post anything next week, I'm real sorry. I'll do my best to catch up during Thanksgiving break!**

 **For those of you who have been missing out on whatever the countries are up to, this chapter is for you! This chapter basically goes through everything that's happened at the World conference from when France left the conference room to before he gets the phone call from Louisiana. Also, this entire chapter will take place from his point of view, since France supported us through this whole ordeal big time and I think he and his people deserves that recognition. :) Yeah, I'm looking at you, (if you are French, insert your name here)!**

 **And with that out of the way, let us begin.**

* * *

For the first time in his life, he couldn't care less about the creases and wrinkles that were adorning his normally beautiful face.

France paced nervously outside the open door as he listened quietly to Canada's incoherent babbling and England's panicked voice doing everything in his power to soothe the mostly silent nation in the bed in front of him. Despite his unconscious state, America's face was contorted in pain. England gently set a wet washcloth on his feverish forehead, subconsciously winching at every ragged breathe. He was still paranoid, traumatized even, from the events that had occurred after the third hit just minutes ago.

France couldn't blame him. It had scared him, too. So much so that he gave up on trying to comfort Canada when he himself was still shaking and it only made Canada panic. So he had resorted to pacing. Pacing and not looking up because he _couldn't look at them_.

And it wasn't even the worst condition that he'd ever seen a nation in. After the London Blitz, England had looked like death and even France felt sorry as he watched him regain his ability to walk and _breathe_. France himself hadn't been in the best condition after his country was taken over by the Nazi party. Oh, and don't even get him started on Japan's injuries after Hiroshima and Nagasaki... And that was just a couple of examples from WWII alone...

Yes, horrible things, even _worse_ things, had happened to a lot of them, and yet, for more of them than he expected, everything had _stopped_. It was as if the world had ceased spinning, and as France saw it, there were two major reasons for this. One, it was peace time. There were no major wars going on, and most of the awful things that had happened to all of them were during wars, so it was expected. This had come out of absolute nowhere. They hadn't expected it at all. It had been a normal day for all of them, and then straight out of left field, the most powerful nation in the world was under attack.

And that was the second reason. This was _America_. _America_ had never been directly attacked outside of war. _America_ was the only superpower nation of the time. _America_ was strong, optimistic, and an unstoppable force.

 _America was_ _dying_.

The thought made France blanch. He'd been pushing that thought away every time it appeared in his mind, but it kept coming back. At first, he ignored it completely. What was there to fear? Nations couldn't die. Unless their country and people disappeared, they were immortal. He shouldn't be worrying about that.

 _But what if that country had territories to take his place?_ At first, France hadn't even understood his own thought, but the more it lingered, the more he wanted time to _stop_ and let him _breathe_. What happened when a nation was made up of territories? What is they were made up of provinces? What if they were made up of states that, altogether, create a second version of him? Could the country itself, as a mere sum of all the personifications of his land put together, die?

France had never pondered this idea more than when he found Canada and America after racing out of the conference room. The time had been 1:56pm.

Outside of war, France had never seen a nation bleed so much. He had leaned heavily against the door frame of America's hotel room, staring wide-eyed as Canada held his unconscious brother to his chest and looked up at him in fear.

"He... They..." Canada sobbed. "W-What do we do?"

France leaped into action, biting his lip as he reluctantly tore off his precious cloak and tried to stop the bleeding and clean the blood off of America's face and torso. There was a deep gash on the right side of his chest, and France knew that it had punctured a lung. France moved himself directly in front of the twins and placed his hand in America's hair. His breathing was ragged and he sounded as if he'd be choking on his own blood any moment.

"Mon frère, we have to move him." France breathed, moving to gently lift him bridal style and at least get him to the bed in the room. He'd have to remember to tip housekeeping after this. This would _not_ be fun to clean up afterward. America gasped in pain, causing France to falter and muttered a small apology.

He had then heard someone's breath hitch behind him as he moved to stand. A glance behind him revealed England, gasping for breath after bolting straight from the conference room in a state of panic. He looked pale, slowly processing what he was looking at as France slowly lifted America off of the ground.

"Angleterre-"

England was already next to him as he set the injured nation down on the bed, England's hands shaking as he looked over his former charge with concern. England carefully took his glasses, setting them on a nearby desk to keep them out of the way, and was immediately startled into action by violent coughing. Canada jumped up from where he was, running to the other side of the bed and taking his brother's hand.

"America?" Canada's voice wavered. "America, can you hear me?"

America inhale hard after hacking up blood and looked over at Canada in slight confusion. "Yeah..." he answered. His voice was painfully raspy. "Wha... What-"

He gasped in pain and clutched his wound, clenching his teeth to try to not cry out. "What...happened?"

Tears threatened to fall from Canada's eyes, but he held it together. At least for now. "Planes. There were planes..., and they... They crashed... I'm sorry, America. Your... The North Tower..."

America's eyes widened in realization, then became clouded with shock and sadness. Yes, he could feel it now. His tower... His people... France and England glanced at each other warily. At this point, they'd been given a chance to really think about all of this, and they had come to the conclusion that if it had been an accident, there was no way that he would be hurt this badly. England couldn't accept that thought, choosing to ignore the idea and instead stay with America for the time being. France, however, knew that if they were right, this might not be the end of it.

France didn't want to be right.

Not long after the clock struck two, America screamed, a new gaping wound appearing and tearing into his other lung. Canada, out of shock, flew back in surprise before immediately leaping forward to try and comfort him, though he himself looked as if he needed it just as badly, given that the tears had finally spilled over. England had nearly hit the ceiling, dashing off and furiously digging through every bathroom and closet and sending after any personnel available to him in search of needed first aid. France could hear the other countries from where they were, screaming and shouting over whatever was happening in New York at that moment. Japan found them eventually, his face deathly pale.

"They hit the second tower." he gasped, his eyes darting between France and America. If France had been more observant, he might have noticed how Japan's eyes lingered on America's prone form before he turned away, or how they burned with rage as he stormed back towards the conference room, while his fists were balled up so tightly that his palms bled and his steps were loud and made the floor creak and groan under him.

The next twenty minutes had been a blur. Canada never left his brother's side, conversing with him when he was awake and holding his hand tightly and speaking words of encouragement when he went back under. England took care of most of the bandaging, France stepping in and assisting him when needed.

For the first time since either of them could remember, they never fought. Not once.

* * *

It was 2:25pm when France had wandered back into the conference room, all eyes glued to the screens on the far right wall. No one noticed him enter, but he really didn't mind at the moment. The shouting had stopped, now a collective whisper amongst the concerned nations. France had taken the chance to catch a glimpse of some of the reactions of his fellow nations. Some didn't surprise him in the least. Back with America, England and Canada were barely holding it together, and he himself was still in shock. He noticed Ukraine and Lithuania huddled in a corner to his left, the former stroking the latter's hair to comfort him, as well as herself, it seemed. France could not see Lithuania's face, but he could see his body shaking and hear the sharp intakes of breath. Estonia and Latvia stood nearby, watching with dismay.

France was startled out of his thoughts by Greece approaching him, asking about America's condition. Greece seemed genuinely concerned and asked if France would be willing to give him his regards for him, though he hoped to see him personally once he was back on his feet. The fact that Greece wanted to do _something_ spoke volumes, and France couldn't help but smile. Finland and Sweden were both completely silent, as was Norway, looking down with solemn expressions on their faces. On closer inspection, France could see the worry and disbelief as well. Austria and Hungary were both in similar states. It wasn't long before France was approached by South Korea and Poland, both for the same purpose as Greece, and France started to notice something.

Not one nation was left without emotion. None of them in that room were happy. It was because of this that France started to notice reactions that left him somewhat unnerved.

Germany looked like he wanted to punch something. _Again_ , France thought, noticing nearby holes in the wall. He was _seething_. France honestly didn't remember the last time he had seen Germany that angry. Italy wasn't affected by that, however, as he clutched the German's arm and cried into his shoulder. That was somewhat expected. Italy and America were on decent terms and Italy was sensitive, so of course he would cry.

What France hadn't expected was for Romano to react the same way, and openly into the shoulder of _Spain_ of all people.

Prussia was near Germany, standing straight and alert as he watched the scene unfolding before them with an expression that France couldn't quite decipher. There was no doubt in his mind, however, that it was something similar to Germany's. Meanwhile, China was pacing, babbling frantically to himself in Mandarin and violently kicking things out of his way every once in a while. China was not pleased. He was disgusted. For someone to do something like this to such a young country, even _that_ country.

 _He's not even three hundred..._

It had warmed France's heart, seeing everyone showing so much concern for America's well being. Yet, at the same time, it scared him. It made him realize just how _bad_ this was, and how bad it _could_ get, but France buried those thoughts in the back of his mind. Or at least he tried, until he was faced with three certain people and their responses and France just wanted to _get out_ and _be with his family_.

The first was Cuba. France knew that Cuba hated America with a passion. He didn't know the whole history behind it, but he knew that the Cold War was in there somewhere(which he'd rather not think about). Considering how much Cuba detested the American, France had thought that perhaps Cuba would at least be satisfied seeing someone he hated get attacked so viciously. What France found adorning Cuba's face was a grimace. He looked displeased and impatient, strumming his fingers against the table and tapping his foot violently against the floor.

France jumped when Cuba slammed his hands on the table, stood up, and marched right over to him, staring at him with intense determination.

"What can I do?"

"Huh?"

" _What can I do?_ How can I help him?"

France was stunned into silence, gawking at Cuba in shock. He'd been taken completely by surprise.

Cuba became impatient. "Stop staring and tell me what I can do! That idiot needs all the help he can get! Do you need medical supplies? I can get that for you, at least!"

France shook himself out of his trance. "O-Oui. That would be-"

Cuba was already gone, off to his room searching for his extra supplies and his phone to contact his government for further aid. That had thrown France completely for a loop.

The second time he felt his stomach drop was when he noticed Japan. The island nation stood motionless in front of the television. At first, he looked completely blank and remained still, as if he were a statue. Not living, nor breathing. It was at this point that France finally noticed the subtle changes in Japan's stance. Normally, Japan stood straight, like he did now, but he looked _taller_. _Bigger_. One hand was still balled into a fist, while the other was itching his katana longingly, _craving_ the blood of his enemies. Japan had never bothered to wash his own blood off of his hands.

For a single moment, he turned to face France, and the look in Japan's eyes unnerved him. It was almost as if they were _on fire_ , a blazing inferno, _burning with rage,_ because how _dare_ they hurt his friend, as well as _Japan's own people_ , _**everyone elses' own people**_ , in such a _heinous_ and _barbaric_ way. France gulped and broke eye contact, but he could still feel Japan's eyes burning right through him. It felt like a breath of fresh air when he finally turned away. At least France knew that they could count on him. He also knew that no one else's reaction could possibly scar him for life quite like _that_ one did.

And then he saw Russia.

He sat alone at the end of the table, directly ahead of where France stood, watching the news with the blankest expression he'd ever seen. He didn't make a move, nor a sound. He just...watched. Belarus approached him with concern. If France didn't know any better, he'd say that her face looked as if she'd been suppressing a sob. Whether it was for Russia or America, he wasn't quite sure. She put her hand on his shoulder, leaning over to whisper something to him, probably asking if he was okay. When Russia turned to her, France got a better look at his face.

His eyes were dead.

Belarus's expression didn't change, but France could see her shoulders tighten. "Big brother?"

Russia stared at her for a moment before he turned back to the burning towers. _So many innocents..._ Once upon a time, Russia wouldn't have cared. For all he knew, he might have liked to be involved in something like this in the past. But, now... Now... Russia looked down, never making eye contact with Belarus, and his voice was so quiet that France almost didn't hear him.

"My people, they... My people are crying...for him..."

Russia then hunched over and hid his face in his hands.

If France had been able to stomach any more before turning away, he might have noticed Russia's fingers slowly starting to dig into his face before balling into fists. He would have seen him stand so quickly that Belarus stumbled back. He might have not been startled by the bulking Russian slamming the conference doors shut behind them and swiftly striding past him with a cell phone in hand.

"Privet, President Putin. It is Russia. We need to talk. _Now_."

France didn't bother chasing after Russia and instead began to make his way back to where America was. Perhaps he was already recovering. Knowing the young nation, he could bounce back from just about anything. It was this wishful thinking that made France smile with a little bit of hope.

And then the room behind him burst into chaos. France and Russia both whirled around at the same time, France in a state of panic. _He was_ not _hit again_. Seeing his distress, Russia raced forward, muttering something into his phone before throwing the doors back open. The nations were in shock, many of them displaying anger more than anything. Russia glanced back at the televisions, his eyes widening at the sight. He turned back to France, who was looking back where he had been heading. They could both hear Canada and England losing their minds, and France was itching to get to them.

"The Pentagon." Russia informed him gravely. "That is part of his heart. That will _hurt_ him. _GO._ "

France didn't have to be told twice. He nearly tripped as he ran towards America's room as fast as he could possibly go. He couldn't help but chastise himself for not realizing that such a major scale attack would involve a hit to the capital at _some_ point. He'd just been in such a state of panic...

 _He's so young..._

 _Yet so powerful..._

 _This isn't suppose to happen to_ him...

Canada appeared down the hallway, skittering through the doorway and folding into himself against the other wall, shaking. France could still hear England shouting in the other room.

"America!" he screamed. "America, _snap out of it!_ "

France appeared next to Canada, holding onto his shoulders and looking into his unfocused, tear-stricken eyes.

"I-I... I. Nonononono..."

"Canada. Mon frère, look at me. What is happening to him?"

"I- He- They- I don't-" Canada stuttered. France didn't know how long he'd had Kumajirou with him, but he felt bad for the little bear currently being suffocated by his owner's grip.

"Canada-"

"His heart. His heart, _his_ _heart!_ " Canada cried.

"Canada, what-"

"I-I-It... It... It...stopped."

France's blood ran cold. " _WHAT!?_ "

"He j-j-jerked...and the- and then a st-t-traggled s-sound...and then... _nothing_."

France jumped at the sound of palm meeting face in the other room and embraced his sobbing little brother in the tightest bear hug he could muster as England switched between giving America CPR and striking him as hard as he could.

 _Heave, press, breathe._ "America, answer me!" he screamed. _SLAP!_ "You're _stronger_ than this!" _Heave, press, breathe. SLAP!_ "Pull yourself together!" _SLAP! SLAP!_ " _Come on, lad!_ "

For the entire duration of that morning, despite already losing his composure entirely, England had managed not to cry. He felt obligated to stay strong for his former charge and showing weakness wasn't going to help anything. France couldn't help but admit to himself that England's strength in such times as this baffled him.

He couldn't see his face, but France could easily tell by the shaking of his shoulders and panic in his voice that it was getting really hard to hold it together right about now. He didn't even seem to care that his voice cracked. " _COME ON, LAD!_ "

There was a cough, and then two, followed by a wheeze, and England collapsed so fast and so suddenly that any nearby chair was completely forgotten, the distraught island nation sprawling onto the floor with a loud thud. France hesitated to leave Canada's side, the quiet nation shaking and burying his face into his shoulder, but curiosity won him over. He gently pushed Kumajirou back into Canada's arms and let him snuggle the poor bear to death for comfort as France cautiously approached his long time rival. He never bothered to get back up, still flat on his back with his eyes hidden under his forearm as he took sharp intakes of breath. Glancing to the bed at his left, France was more than relieved that America was okay. The fact that he was now breathing on his own again was a sign that his heart had started back up. He couldn't imagine how relieved England must feel.

"Eighteen and a half seconds..."

France looked down with a flash of surprise followed by sympathy as England let out a sob and clenched his teeth so hard that he bled. "My little brother...was dead for eighteen and a half seconds..."

And for the first time that day, England cried.

* * *

 **Something tells me that I might have gone overboard here, but never in my life have I known where that edge lies, so... Oh well.**

 **Anyways, see you guys in the next chapter! :D**

 ** _EDIT_ : Hey guys, so this past couple of weeks have been super stressful for me, and now finals are coming up. Because of this, I've gotten _very_ distracted. Another thing is that I've been very clearly reminded that I'm bad at taking criticism, even when justified and even when there's good advice mixed in. Perhaps I'm just not used to receiving it. Finally, I've lost my inspiration and have fallen into the dreaded writer's block. This is starting to become a chore and I do NOT want that. I want this to be fun for both the reader AND the writer. I would also like to apologize to all those out there were didn't get what they were looking for in a fanfic out of my story. I understand that I have disappointed you and I hope that you find something much more worth your time. :) If you have some friendly advice on how to improvement, please let me know and I'll gladly use it as food for thought. Anyway, consider this an official break. I know I'm doing _exactly_ what I DIDN'T want to do as stated in the very first chapter, but I feel this is necessary. I DO intend to finish this story and my other one. That will not change. It just may take a little longer than anticipated. Thank you some much for your understanding and happy holidays! I will see you guys as soon as I'm good and ready. **

**~AnonymousTwit**


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